[ 12 ] 2013 

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"As a result of that, he lost some more brain cells than he normally would and is more tired, so he'll sleep a while longer than you did."

-

"Help me find the door, after we find it I will help Barbie Boy." Calum said as he rushed to the nearest door in desperation. His hands touched the heavy metal doors, to check for the symbols that were mentioned in the books his family kept at the old house. But doing that by himself was going to take some time. He needed both Harley and Luke to help him find the door.

03:27:51.

"Help me find the fucking door." Calum hissed, going over to the next one.

Luke and Harley only stood there paralyzed. It was the first time either of them had ever seen Calum acting so desprately. The girl with golden blonde hair soon joined him, but Luke remained motionless. He didn't know how to help them.

"We won't find the door." Harley sighed in defeat when her blue eyes glanced at the clock. There was only a minute and a half left. She dropped her hands to her sides, giving up. Maybe it was her time to go to the next life, wherever that was. Calum continued searching each door desperately for the symbols which would indicate it was the door they were looking for. She placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him to stop. "Calum, you and Luke need to get out of here right now."

"I can't just leave you here. Fuck, Harley, I know sometimes people die and nothing can be done to save them. But I'm going to fucking try until the very last second." Calum shook his head. His hands continued to search blindly in the darkness, but she pulled on his arm, making him turn to face her.

Her voice came out in a low whisper now, in fear that if she spoke any louder she would start crying. "Forget me, okay? I'll certainly remember you in the next life."

Harley closed her ocean blue eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself, leaning in to meet her lips with Calum's. Luke was a few feet off, barely able to see them through the darkness, but he went to one of the nearest doors. It couldn't hurt to try to find the door they were looking for while the other two were in each other's arms.

Before her lips could meet with his, he stopped her, placing his index finger on her lips. "Don't." He told her, his voice full of heartache.

"Isn't that what you've been wanting from the beginning?" Harley asked him, her bue eyes opening up to look into his brown ones. If these were her last few minutes in the world of the living, she wanted to let Calum know she genuinely cared about him. Harley didn't know of a better way to show him that she cared than with a kiss. But even as she leaned in to kiss him, she couldn't help but think of Ashton. She would have liked to say goodbye to him as well.

"Not if I won't get to see you again." He answered. A small smile tugged at his lips as he added, "Save it for when I get rid of Mirror Boy."

"...Harley." Came the voice of Luke several feet down the hallway. "I think I found the door."

"I can't fucking believe this." Calum growled in disbelief, throwing his arms up in the air. "I come here to rescue you because Mirror Boy was the one who found the book, and now Barbie Boy finds our door? What is there left for me to do? Nothing!"

00:53:07.

"You can tell me what do do." Harley bit down on her lip.

"Just open the door and focus all your energy on getting back home. Just picture it and you'll be taken there. The hunters will be waiting for you." He instructed and she nodded, jogging towards the metal door, the only one with symbols engraved into it. She got it open and quickly walked inside. Calum hoped it would work and that he would see her again. He looked to Luke now, waving him over in annoyance. "Give me your hands."

"Why?" Luke eyed him suspiciously.

"Give me your hands if you want to live." Was the only explanation Calum offered. Luke gulped in fear and slid his hands into Calum's. The raven haired boy, seeing there were only seconds left, closed his eyes tight and focused on returning home, where Harley would be waiting for him. The only down side he saw in helping Luke was that by helping him, he would have to burn up a couple of his brain cells. Luke was in between life and death and still had the chance to return, but since he didn't know how, Calum had to help him.

Calum really concentrated and in seconds he felt the ground beneath him disappeared. In its place was the soft material of the livingroom couch of the hunters' house. 

He opened his eyes, blinking back a bright light, and the first person he saw waiting for him was Harley. She was passed out soundly on the couch next to him. The hunters were by her side, making sure she was okay. He only lasted a few seconds to verify that he had gotten back, before he passed out in exhaustion.

.

.

.

.

When Harley woke up next, she was in a strange bedroom of a house she didn't recognize as her own. The girl with golden blonde hair sat up slowly, there was a throbbing in her head, a massive headache which she assumed could be a result of all the time she spent in that dark hallway. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and let out a yawn. There was a windo to her left where she could look outside. The sun had already gone down over Syndey and she wondered just how long she had been sleeping.

For the first time since she woke up, she looked to her right. There was a desk with a computer chair in front of it. But sitting on the chair was Ashton.

"Harley..." He got up off the chair and hurried towards her. Without hesitating, he sat on the bed where she was resting and pulled her into his arms, with a longing that would have made her thought she'd been gone for years. "I missed you, doll." He admitted to her while his long fingers ran through her strands of blonde hair and his chin rested on top of her head.

She held onto him just as tightly and though he wasn't really alive, she felt his warmth as he hugged her. She could feel the illusion of his heart beating against his chest, something that hadn't existed in him since 1963.

"I missed you too." She told him. When they pulled away, she looked past him to look out the bedroom door. "Is Calum okay?"

Ashton's expression dropped to a frown, but he recovered from it quickly. Calum was the one who had gone to save her, it was only natural that she would be concerned about him. Still, it hurt Ashton that all he could do was to sit around and wait for someone else to go help her.

"He's fine." Ashton sighed. "He's sleeping on the couch downstairs."

Harley pushed herself off the comfortable bed. "Take me to him." She pleaded.

The curly haired boy nodded in silence and led her down the hall towards the staircase. He noticed how her feet dragged tiredly across the wooden floor. He was almost afraid she could fall and hurt herself. When they reached the stairs, he offered his arm to help her hold onto. She took it with a smile and they got down the steps together.

From the bottom of the stairs she could see into the next room. Her eyes searched every inch of it as they approached and she found his still figure, unconscious on the livingroom couch. The television was on and Harley could hear loud voices in spanish, coming from it. The couch where Calum laid was facing the television, and there was another the left, making a right angle with the couch facing the television. On that couch were Dempsey and Paúl, their eyes glued to the screen as though there wasn't an unconscious boy in the livingroom.

Harley let go of Ashton's arm and half-ran the rest of the distance to the couch, dropping to her knees in front of Calum. Turning her head to look at the hunters, who sat with a bowl of popcorn in Dempsey's hands, Harley glared at them. "Why aren't you helping him?"

Dempsey shrugged. "We were assigned to you. Not him."

"But he's still a human being. He could be dying for all you know." Harley argued.

"He isn't" Paúl informed her, grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing it into his mouth nonchalantly. "I checked on him just a few minutes ago, which isn't part of my job, and he was just fine. He's just sleeping longer than you because he lost more brain cells." The hunter explained. "You're welcome, Arlequin."

"What does that mean?" Her blue eyes were full of curiosity.

"You and that boy have the gift of travelling through dimensions." Began the brown eyed boy with tanned skin. "And each time you return, you burn a few brain cells here and there. But you burn the double of them if you bring back someone who isn't a shifter, someone who is in between life and death. As a result of that, he lost some more brain cells than he normally would and is more tired, so he'll sleep a while longer than you did." In mock annoyance, he told her, "You need to learn the basics of your gift, arlequin."

Harley crinkled up her nose. "What is arleh keen?"

"A bird. They're a type of parrot, but they are very rare." He responded. "And curiously, it is also the way your name is pronounced in spanish."

"Hm." Harley hummed. She had one last question for the hunters. "And...how long have I been asleep?"

Dempsey responded to that. "About five days. Your friend will sleep double whatever you slept. It might be less, depending on how strong he is."

Harley bit her lip. "I hope he's okay."

Everyone in the room went silent, there was nothing more to say between them. Ashton helped Harley get back on her feet and led her to a single sofa across from where Dempsey and Paúl sat. 

Harley tried to watch the television while Ashton leaned on the arm rest, as there was nowhere else to sit. He wanted to be as close to her as possible in case she needed anything. The football game they were watching between Club Tijuana and Club Queretaro. Despite the fact that she was watching, she had no idea what was going on.

They were fifteen minutes into watching the game when there was a knock on the front door. Paúl got up to open it. Harley heard the door open and turned her head almost instantly when she heard the Mexican hunter say, "Michael?"

-

so guyssss.

i know i said wednesday. but my spanish teacher extended the turn-in hours until friday, so i was submiting anything i hadn't submitted and re-doing anything i wanted a better grade in.

hopefully i pass the class because my teacher is really strict as a teacher. as an advisor she is amazing.

anyway, thank you all for reading.

you don't know how i am suffering. right now is the tournament final for the mexican league. its tigres vs club america. i want tigres to win cause i hate club america. they are my team's biggest rivals. like my hatred for them is bigger than anything. also, if they win, they'll have more tournament wins than my team (chivas).

and i kid you not. its like tigres is TRYING to lose. in five minutes, three of them have gotten a red, which meant they are kicked out of the field. tigres is now playing 8 men against 11. and they are down one goal.

my life sucks.

i hate club america, and its really hard for me to hate someone or something. i don't hate the players. just the club.

anyway, i hope you enjoy the chapter. 

i love you.

-clary xx